The U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions on Wednesday against nine individuals and one entity in Gaza, Sudan, Turkey, Algeria and Qatar, in response to Hamas’ deadly attack in Israel.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said: “The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators following its brutal and unconscionable massacre of Israeli civilians, including children. We will continue to take all steps necessary to deny Hamas terrorists the ability to raise and use funds to carry out atrocities and terrorize the people of Israel.”
The sanctions included a Gaza-based crypto business, called “Buy Cash Money and Money Transfer Company” (Buy Cash). According to the Treasury Department, the firm provides money transfer and virtual currency exchange services, including cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Blockchain research firm Elliptic said that crypto wallets controlled by Buy Cash have received over $25 million in cryptocurrencies since 2015. Buy Cash responded to an emailed request for comment, saying that it is a “licensed international company” without giving details.
Additionally, the sanctions targeted six individuals associated with Hamas’ secret investment portfolio. This builds on the Treasury’s imposition of sanctions in 2022 on officials and companies that manage the international portfolio.
105 U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. Treasury Department and the White House expressing “grave concern” that Hamas and an affiliated group called Palestinian Islamic Jihad were using digital assets to fund their operations and evade U.S. sanctions.
Israel’s National Bureau for Counter Terrorist Financing seized a crypto wallet belonging to Buy Cash in June 2021.
Reuters reported on the sanctions, with reporting by Susan Heavey and Doina Chiacu in Washington and Elizabeth Howcroft in London. Editing was done by Doina Chiacu, Rod Nickel and Deepa Babington. Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
